Page 85 of Until Death or Defeat

The morning light filters in through the curtains; shining glaringly onto her warm locks as they lay spread across the pillow. I wish I could keep myself here, but I can’t let myself get distracted. I can’t let any of this stay stagnant any longer; Ihave to finish this chapter off for her so that I can resolve my own shit.

When I move off the bed and grab a dress shirt, I hear her voice from behind me as she still lay on the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“We have a lot to do today,solnishko. You know this.”

“Artem I...didn’t tell you something that my uncle said to me.”

I turn toward her, and she fidgets as she looks down. “He said that before the engagement, some Russian men had approached him, and offered him money in exchange for information on...us. I guess.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, sighing deeply as she continues.

“I didn’t want to tell you, okay? I just wanted to get you off my back. But now that you think Leo is the villain, I had to say it before you did something crazy.”

“Neverkeep anything like that from me again. Do you understand how much this changes things?” My voice is raised as I point my finger at her.

“I’m sorry,” she admits quietly.

“Sorry isn’t enough. Do what I say, yes? Do you think I say shit just for the hell of it?”

She shakes her head, unusually quiet.

I exhale, dropping my shoulders as I walk toward the bed, grabbing her chin gently. “I need to know everything, or I can’t protect you properly.”

“I won’t do it again.”

“I know,” I say as I squeeze her cheeks affectionately and pull back to stand straight again. “I don’t know what this means now. I have to talk to Roman but I would highly doubt the two things are connected.”

“Why can’t they be?”

“What Russians are against your family?” I ask incredulously.

“Fine, I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. Caesar would know, so we should go see him. I’m sure there’s people who keep track of anyone like that.”

Fucking Caesar. I suppose if that’s what I have to do, then I’ll play allies.

“Call him. I’m going to go fill Roman and Maxim in on the change of plans.”

I walk down the stairs as I button up my shirt, running right into Maxim who seems to be just walking through the front door.

“Where were you?”

“Out? I didn’t know I had a bedtime. I’ve been neglecting my needs too long because of you and G.” He wriggles his eyebrows suggestively, and I sigh and keep walking toward the kitchen as he follows.

“So?” Roman asks as we walk in, still waiting for the information Giselle was coming back with from her uncle.

“So, our problems have doubled. Someone approached her uncle before we got married, looking for information because of me—Russian, but he didn’t know them.”

“Well, that could be a non-issue.”

“Yeah, or it could be exactly the thing I’ve been waiting for ten years to happen,” I say as I run a hand through my hair.

“Artem, it isn’t them. They don’t need to get information from Italians.”

“They knew her and I were...close. They’d been watching, whoever it was. If it’s someone from the Families, then this is manageable. If it isn’t, then,” I say shaking my head, not even able to finish the sentence.

“Only someone in the Families could knowthat, Artem. Think about it. You two never met outside of that country club.”